While the SEMA show is typically known for the fast and the ludicrous stuff, there are on occasion one or two relevant modified cars.
But we'll come to those later. Let's start with the 2,000hp Land Cruiser. Yes, twice the power of a LaFerrari in a Land Cruiser. Toyota has gone to town for this year's SEMA in fact, with an 'XTREME' Corolla, 'Extreme' Sienna and a slightly less extreme Prius G. There's a
GT86 CS-Cup
MY17 car
as well, with - at last - a set of wheels that look good on the '86.
None are as interesting as the Land Cruiser though. Or Land Speed Cruiser, rather. The 5.7-litre 3UR-FE V8 now has, in Toyota's own words, a "volleyball-sized Garrett turbocharger" on each bank of cylinders, which sounds like a very good start on the way to 2,000hp. The subtle look is very deliberate, says Toyota, the most obvious giveaways being the lower stance and the new intakes to cool those giant turbos.
Lexus has a reputation for bringing very cool concepts to SEMA - the 700hp, Supra-engined IS being a prime example - and this year is no different. For 2016, Gordon Ting and Beyond Marketing have been given an LC 500 to work on. While the yellow paint and 22-inch HRE wheels may not be to all tastes, what's under the bonnet should be. The 5.0-litre V8 has been bored out to 5.6-litres, with new pistons and con-rods said to be good for 9,000rpm. Power is now 525hp, which would surely work very nicely in a GS F. This LC also benefits from KW suspension, Brembo brakes and Sparco seats.
Over at Ford, a new Mustang GT4 sits alongside the Baja F-150. It's derived from the GT350R-C that raced this year and uses a 5.2-litre V8 - ont the GT350 engine, birzarrely - with a six-speed Holinger gearbox. There are Multimatic dampers, Forgeline wheels and one ruddy great rear wing. It's eligible for all global GT4 championships, so if a Cayman GT4 Clubsport isn't quite man enough...
To BMW, finally, at least until another 200mph 4x4 is announced. It has used the SEMA show to launch a new set of M Performance upgrades. While most are the usual selection of dodgy spoilers, gratuitous carbon and yet more stickers, there are some interesting parts now available for the M3 and M4. New forged wheels come with Michelin Cup 2 tyres, look pretty snazzy and contribute to "even better steering behaviour, resulting in a further increase in driving dynamics."We'll ignore the spoiler for now, but the new coilover suspension is worth a mention. It is ride height adjustable - it can be lowered between 5mm and 20mm - and is said to offer "racing inspired driving dynamics" on the road. Could this be the solution for those underwhelmed - or terrified - by the
standard car
It's a busy convention in Las Vegas then, with the aftermarket tuning scene still alive and well it would seem. Now how do we get press passes for 2017?